Hand cleansing formulation

ABSTRACT

This invention provides heavy-duty cleansers (HDHC), with a high level of biodegradability and little or no ecotoxicity, with a high level of efficiency and a maximum skin tolerance and no systemic toxicity. In the broadest aspect of the invention there is provided a cleansing formulation comprising 5 to 10% of one or more methylesters of vegetable saturated and/or unsaturated fatty acids which may be from several natural sources including sunflower seed oil, soybean oil, rape seed oil, or coconut oil. The formulation includes between about 10% to 30% of one or more surfactants and a preferred combination of surfactants includes at least one ethoxylated fatty alcohol, one alkyl polyoxyethylene glycol, one alkanolamide and one polymeric quaternary ammonium salt.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a Divisional application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/514,106 entitled HAND CLEANSING FORMULATIONfiled on Nov. 12, 2004 in the name of the same inventors, which has nowbeen allowed, which is a National Phase application claiming the benefitof PCT/IB03/01683 filed on May 13, 2003; which further claims prioritybenefit of French Patent Application No. 0205878, filed on May 13, 2002,entitled HAND CLEANSING FORMULATION, all of which are incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to heavy-duty cleansers (HDHC), with orwithout solvent, with a high level of biodegradability and little or noecotoxicity, with a high level of efficiency and a maximum skintolerance and no systemic toxicity.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are two major categories of heavy duty hand cleansers (HDHC)currently on the market. The first include formulations without solventand with or without scrubbing micro-particles, typically derived fromvegetable, mineral or organic origins. These products contain somesurfactants which act by emulsifying greasy stains. These scrubbingmicro-particles provide a mechanical effect during the hand washing and,thus, increase the cleansing power of the preparation.

The second category of so called heavy duty cleansers includeformulations with solvents present, with or without scrubbing particles,with surfactants (soap and/or synthetic and/or semi-syntheticsurfactants). These cleansers containing solvents combine theemulsifying properties of the surfactants with the solubilizingproperties of the solvent. The presence of micro-particles will increasethe cleansing power of these formulations as in the case ofnon-solvented formulations. The solvents are generally hydrocarbonsolvents without any aromatics (or trace amounts present only) and usedat an average concentration of 10 to 30%. Terpenes such as d-limoneneare also often used at a concentration of 1 to 10%. Hydrophilic solventssuch as propylenic glycol ethers are rarely used. Solvents are oftencriticized for their defatting properties on skin which may induceirritation.

D-limonene has an aesthetic advantage of having a very pleasant orangearoma while functionally it is very effective on grease, but a drawbackto this solvent is the fact that, in its pure form, it is flammable andis considered harmful to the environment. In addition, some allergies tooxidized terpenes are described in scientific literature. This is whyd-limonene for example is systematically protected from oxidation usinga cosmetic anti-oxidant (in most cases the anti-oxidants used areButyl-Hydroxy-Anisol (BHA) and/or Butyl-Hydroxy-Toluene (BHT) which alsohave a sensitizing potential). Hydrocarbon and terpene-based solventshave a low biodegradability potential and are known for having asignificant ecotoxicity on aquatic life.

The use of surfactants only to obtain a high level of cleansingefficiency is possible but needs a high concentration of active matterwhich is costly and not suitable in terms of the environment. It wouldbe very advantageous to provide a cleanser having a combination ofsolvent, surfactant(s) and scrubbing microparticles would allow one toreduce the total quantity of active matter in the finished product.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the invention there is provided a skin cleansingformulations, comprising

a) between about 5% to about 10% by weight of at least one of amethylester of a saturated or unsaturated fatty acid;

b) between about 10 to 30% of a nonionic surfactant ethoxylatedisotridecanol;

c) between about 10 to 80% water; and

d) a thickening agent for giving said formulation a desired viscosity.

In this aspect of the invention the formulation may include a scrubbingagent.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A goal of the present invention is to provide a new heavy duty handcleanser (HDHC), with or without solvent, with a high level ofbiodegradability and little or no ecotoxicity, with a high level ofefficiency and a maximum skin tolerance and no systemic toxicity. Thehigh level of potential biodegradability and low level of ecotoxicitypotentially meet the criteria of the Scandinavian Swan label guidelines.

In the broadest aspect of the invention there is provided a cleansingformulation comprising 5 to 10% of one or more methylesters of vegetablesaturated and/or unsaturated fatty acids which may be from severalnatural sources including sunflower seed oil, soybean oil, rape seedoil, or coconut oil. The formulation includes between about 10% to 30%of one or more surfactants and a preferred combination of surfactantsincludes at least one ethoxylated fatty alcohol, one alkylpolyoxyethylene glycol, one alkanolamide and one polymeric quaternaryammonium salt.

Preferred formulations include water present between about 10% to 80%,one or a combination of one or more scrubbing agents present in anamount between about 1% to about 10%. One or more viscosity-buildingagents are included to give the formulation the desired viscosity andthese may include acrylic or acrylate polymers with or without mineraland/or a natural thickener. Cosmetic adjuvants may also be used in theformulation including preservatives, pigment, antioxydant, chelators andactive substances including essential oils, essential fatty acids tomention just a few.

More particularly, preferred cleansing compositions include thefollowing constituents:

-   1) Methyl ester of sunflower seed oil. This esterified vegetable oil    contains essentially the two esters: methyl oleate and methyl    linoleate. It has very good solvency properties on grease, is easily    biodegradable, is not ecotoxic, is not toxic, is obtained from a    renewable source and is not flammable. This ingredient is not used    in any of the HDHC present on the market.-   2) Ethoxylated isotridecanol. This cosmetic non ionic surfactant is    readily biodegradable and is not an irritant. According to its    average carbon chain length and its level of ethoxylation, its    detergency power is theoretically very high. The combination of    methyl ester of sunflower seed oil (5 to 10%) and ethoxylated    isotridecanol (5 to 10%), at a total low concentration, gives the    formulation the same level of cleansing efficiency as HDHC    containing 20 to 30% of hydrocarbon solvent (results of lab tests)    and also has a very good ecological profile. This combination does    not exist on the market and the methyl ester of sunflower seed oil    is not used alone either.-   3) Tetradibutyl pentaerithrityl hydroxyhydrocinnamate. This    antioxydant was recently launched by CIBA (Tinogard TTDD^(R)) and is    thus not yet used in competitor HDHC. It is highly biodegradable,    not ecotoxic and not toxic. It is used in the formulation to protect    the methyl ester of sunflower seed oil from oxydation instead of    using Butyl-Hydroxy-Anisol and/or Butyl-Hydroxy-Toluene commonly    used in cosmetics and hygiene products.-   4) Corn meal scrubber. This natural scrubbing agent is easily    biodegradable, is not ecotoxic, is not toxic and is obtained from a    renewable source. It is very mild for the skin because it has no    angle or rough surface and its hardness is sufficient to increase    the cleansing efficiency by mechanical effect. The scrubbing agent    may be of vegetable, mineral or plastic origins.-   5) Essential oils of Mentha piperita, Mentha arvensis and Eucalyptus    globulus. This combination of natural essential oils gives the    product a pleasant fresh and flowery smell without perfume (perfumes    are complex formulations containing 20 to 100 ingredients which are    sometimes ecotoxic and/or irritant or sensitising).-   6) The cleansing efficiency of the formulation is reinforced with    one alkyl polyoxyethylene glycol (peg-33 castor oil) and one    alkanolamide (cocamide dea) which both also have very good    emolliency properties.-   7) Emolliency is necessary to compensate the eventual defatting    power of the preparation and to maintain the skin biomechanical and    moisturising characteristics at an acceptable level. This emolliency    level is reinforced with the use of polymeric quaternary ammonium    salt (polyquaternium-7) whose chemical structure accounts for its    affinity for the skin.-   8) The formulation may include two cosmetic preservatives,    dimethylol dimethyl hydantoin and dimethyl oxazolidine, give a    synergistic association used to protect the preparation from the    growth of microoganisms (Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria,    yeast and molds).-   9) One or more viscosity-building agents are preferably included in    the cleansing formulation which have rheological properties which    are useful for stabilising the emulsion and adjusting the final    viscosity to the desired level. Examples of such agents include    carbomer-like acrylic acid polymer with bentonite and/or xanthane    gum with bentonite. Aminomethyl propanol is a cosmetic pH adjuster    which may be included in the formulation. Titanium dioxide may be    included in the formulation and is used as a cosmetic opacifier    pigment.

EXAMPLE FORMULATIONS

Table 1 shows the chemicals and compositions used to produce theparticular formulations shown in Tables 2 to 4.

TABLE 1 CHEMICALS (INCI) COMPOSITION SUNFLOWER SEED OIL METHYL OLEATEAND METHYL LINOLEATE METHYL ESTER TRIDECETH-10 (ETHOXYLATED POLYETHYLENEGLYCOL ETHER OF TRIDECYL ISOTRIDECANOL) ALCOHOL COCAMIDE DEA COCONUTDIETHANOLAMIDE PEG-33 CASTOR OIL POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL DERIVATIVE OFCASTOR OIL (Ricinus communis) POLYQUATERNIUM-7 POLYMERIC QUATERNARYAMMONIUM SALT CONSISTING OF ACRYLAMIDE AND DIMETHYL DIALLYL AMMONIUMCHLORIDE MONOMERS CORN (ZEA MAYS) MEAL CELLULOSE AND STARCHACRYLATES/C10-30 ALKYL COPOLYMER OF C10-30 ALKYL ACRYLATES AND ACRYLATECROSSPOLYMER ONE OR MORE MONOMERS OF ACRYLIC ACID DIMETHYLOL DIMETHYL1,3-DIHYDROXYMETHYL-5,5-OL DIMETHYL HYDANTOIN HYDANTOIN DIMETHYLOXAZOLIDINE 4,4-DIMETHYL-1,3-OXAZOLIDINE TETRADIBUTYL TETRADIBUTYLPENTAERITHRITYL PENTAERITHRITYL HYDROXYHYDROCINNAMATEHYDROXYHYDROCINNAMATE AMINOMETHYLPROPANOL AMINOMETHYLPROPANOL TITANIUMDIOXYDE TITANIUM DIOXYDE ESSENTIAL OILS OF MENTHA ESSENTIAL OILS OFMENTHA PIPERITA/MENTHA PIPERITA/MENTHA ARVENSIS/ ARVENSIS/EUCALYPTUSGLOBULUS EUCALYPTUS GLOBULUS BENTONITE NATIVE HYDRATED COLLOIDALALUMINIUM SILICATE CLAY XANTHANE GUM HETEROPOLYSACCHARIDE GUM PRODUCEDBY FERMENTATION OF A CARBOHYDRATE BY A BACTERIA (Xanthomonas campestris)CARBOMER HOMOPOLYMER OF ACRYLIC ACID CROSSLINKED WITH AN ALLYL ETHER OFPENTAERYTHRITOL

The following are examples of cleansing formulations produced inaccordance with the present invention

Example 1

INGREDIENTS % wt WATER 73.64 SUNFLOWER SEED OIL METHYL ESTER 9.00TRIDECETH-10 (ETHOXYLATED ISOTRIDECANOL) 7.00 COCAMIDE DEA 3.00 PEG-33CASTOR OIL 2.00 POLYQUATERNIUM-7 0.50 CORN (ZEA MAYS) MEAL 4.00ACRYLATES/C10-30 ALKYL ACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER 0.35 DIMETHYLOL DIMETHYLHYDANTOIN 0.10 DIMETHYL OXAZOLIDINE 0.10 TETRADIBUTYL PENTAERITHRITYL0.05 HYDROXYHYDROCINNAMATE AMINOMETHYLPROPANOL 0.12 TITANIUM DIOXYDE0.05 ESSENTIAL OILS OF MENTHA PIPERITA/MENTHA 0.09 ARVENSIS/EUCALYPTUSGLOBULUS

Example 2

INGREDIENTS % wt WATER 60 to 80 SUNFLOWER SEED OIL METHYL ESTER 10.00 TRIDECETH-10 (ETHOXYLATED ISOTRIDECANOL) 10.00  COCAMIDE DEA 5.00 PEG-33CASTOR OIL 2.00 POLYQUATERNIUM-7 0.50 CORN (ZEA MAYS) MEAL 4.00 CARBOMER0.20 BENTONITE 0.20 DIMETHYLOL DIMETHYL HYDANTOIN 0.10 DIMETHYLOXAZOLIDINE 0.10 TETRADIBUTYL PENTAERITHRITYL 0.05 HYDROXYHYDROCINNAMATEAMINOMETHYLPROPANOL 0.10 TITANIUM DIOXYDE 0.10 ESSENTIAL OILS OF MENTHAPIPERITA/ 0.09 MENTHA ARVENSIS/EUCALYPTUS GLOBULUS

Example 3

INGREDIENTS % wt WATER 60 to 80 SUNFLOWER SEED OIL METHYL ESTER 10.00 TRIDECETH-10 (ETHOXYLATED ISOTRIDECANOL) 10.00  COCAMIDE DEA 5.00 PEG-33CASTOR OIL 2.00 POLYQUATERNIUM-7 0.50 CORN (ZEA MAYS) MEAL 4.00 XANTHANEGUM 0.50 BENTONITE 0.30 DIMETHYLOL DIMETHYL HYDANTOIN 0.10 DIMETHYLOXAZOLIDINE 0.10 TETRADIBUTYL PENTAERITHRITYL 0.05 HYDROXYHYDROCINNAMATEAMINOMETHYLPROPANOL 0.10 TITANIUM DIOXYDE 0.10 ESSENTIAL OILS OF MENTHAPIPERITA/ 0.09 MENTHA ARVENSIS/EUCALYPTUS GLOBULUS

As used herein, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” are to beconstrued as being inclusive and open ended, and not exclusive.Specifically, when used in this specification including claims, theterms “comprises” and “comprising” and variations thereof mean thespecified features, steps or components are included. These terms arenot to be interpreted to exclude the presence of other features, stepsor components.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the inventionhas been presented to illustrate the principles of the invention and notto limit the invention to the particular embodiment illustrated. It isintended that the scope of the invention be defined by all of theembodiments encompassed within the following claims and theirequivalents.

1. A skin cleansing formulation, comprising a) between about 5% to about10% by weight of at least one of a methylester of a saturated orunsaturated fatty acid; b) between about 10 to 30% of a nonionicsurfactant ethoxylated isotridecanol; c) between about 10 to 80% water;and d) a thickening agent for giving said formulation a desiredviscosity.
 2. The skin cleansing formulation according to claim 1including between about 1 to about 10% of a scrubbing agent.
 3. The skincleansing formulation according to claim 1 wherein said at least one ofa methylester of a saturated or unsaturated fatty acid is selected fromthe group consisting of sunflower seed oil, soybean oil, rape seed oiland coconut oil.
 4. (canceled)
 5. The skin cleansing formulationaccording to claim 2 wherein said scrubbing agent is one of a vegetable,or mineral or plastic origins.
 6. The skin cleansing formulationaccording to claim 5 wherein said scrubbing agent is corn meal.
 7. Theskin cleansing formulation according to claim 1 including selectedcosmetic adjuvants.
 8. (canceled)
 9. The skin cleansing formulationaccording to claim 1 wherein said thickening agent includes an acrylatecopolymer.
 10. The skin cleansing formulation according to claim 1wherein said thickening agent is selected from the group consisting ofxanthane gum, bentonite and combinations thereof.
 11. The skin cleansingformulation according to claim 1 wherein said methylester of a saturatedor unsaturated vegetable oil is methylester of sunflower seed oil.12.-14. (canceled)
 15. The skin cleansing formulation according to claim2 wherein said at least one of a methylester of a saturated orunsaturated fatty acid is selected from the group consisting ofsunflower seed oil, soybean oil, rape seed oil and coconut oil. 16.(canceled)
 17. (canceled)
 18. The skin cleansing formulation accordingto claim 2, wherein said methylester of a saturated or unsaturatedvegetable oil is methylester of sunflower seed oil.
 19. (canceled) 20.The skin cleansing formulation according to claim 5, wherein saidmethylester of a saturated or unsaturated vegetable oil is methylesterof sunflower seed oil.
 21. The skin cleansing formulation according toclaim 7, wherein said methylester of a saturated or unsaturatedvegetable oil is methylester of sunflower seed oil. 22.-24. (canceled)25. The skin cleansing formulation according to claim 2 wherein saidthickening agent includes an acrylate copolymer.
 26. The skin cleansingformulation according to claim 3 wherein said thickening agent includesan acrylate copolymer.
 27. (canceled)